History of Experian in Timeline

Experian is a multinational data broker and consumer credit reporting company with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. As a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, it plays a significant role in the financial sector. Experian is also a partner with USPS in address validation services. It is recognized as one of the 'Big Three' credit reporting agencies, alongside TransUnion and Equifax, highlighting its prominent position in the credit information industry.

1968: Acquisition by TRW Inc.

In 1968, Credit Data Corporation was acquired by TRW Inc. and subsequently renamed TRW Information Services.

November 1996: Sale to Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners

In November 1996, TRW sold Experian to Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners.

2003: Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003

In 2003, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act was signed into law, amending the FCRA to require credit reporting companies to provide consumers with one free copy of their credit report per 12-month period.

August 2005: Settlement with the FTC

In August 2005, Experian reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations that Experian had violated a previous settlement with the FTC regarding the disclosure of automatic enrollment in Experian's credit-monitoring program.

October 2006: Demerged from GUS and listed on the London Stock Exchange

In October 2006, Experian was demerged from GUS and listed on the London Stock Exchange.

January 2008: Job cuts at Nottingham office

In January 2008, Experian announced that it would cut more than 200 jobs at its Nottingham office.

April 2009: Shutdown of Canadian operations

In April 2009, Experian shut down its Canadian operations.

September 2013: Data breach started

In September 2013 Experian experienced a data breach that lasted until 16 September 2015. As many as 15 million people may have had their private information exposed.

2013: Hieu Minh Ngo charged with selling data

In 2013, Hieu Minh Ngo, a Vietnamese national, was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with attempting to sell personally identifiable information on hundreds of thousands of U.S. residents allegedly purchased from Experian subsidiary Court Ventures.

September 2015: Data breach ended

In September 2015 Experian's data breach ended after starting on 1 September 2013. As many as 15 million people may have had their private information exposed.

October 2015: Data breach discovered

On 1 October 2015 Experian announced that they had discovered a data breach existing between 1 September 2013 and 16 September 2015. As many as 15 million people may have had their private information exposed.

2015: Mosaic used by Conservatives

In 2015, the Conservatives adopted Experian's market segmentation tool, Mosaic, for their General Election campaign.

March 2017: Fine from CFPB

In March 2017, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Experian $3 million for providing invalid credit scores to consumers.

October 2017: Acquisition of Clarity Services

In October 2017, Experian acquired Clarity Services, a credit bureau specializing in alternative consumer data.

2020: Data breach in South Africa

In 2020, Experian suffered a data breach in South Africa, leaking data on 24 million South Africans and nearly 800,000 businesses.

January 2021: Data leak in Brazil

In January 2021, a data leak in Brazil was linked to Experian's Brazilian subsidiary Serasa Experian, resulting in the data of 220 million citizens being sold online.

2022: Flaw revealed in Experian's website

In late 2022 a flaw was revealed in Experian's website which allowed access to individual credit reports without full authentication, simply by changing the last part of the URL being requested from "/acr/oow/" to "/acr/report".

2023: Flaw fixed in Experian's website

In early 2023, Experian fixed a flaw that was found in late 2022 on Experian's website which allowed access to individual credit reports without full authentication.

October 2024: Agreement to acquire ClearSale

In October 2024, Experian agreed to acquire Brazilian digital fraud prevention provider ClearSale for $350 million.

October 2025: Shutdown of Dutch operations

In October 2025, Experian shut down its Dutch operations after receiving a €2.7 million fine from the Dutch Data Protection Authority for illegally processing credit reference data on Dutch consumers.